Method of and composition fob conditioning wool or the like



Patented Feb. 3, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v nuous'rus n. GILL, or mmon'n uassacnusnrrs un'rnon or arm comrosrrron ron oonnrrronmo WOOL on was mm:

Ito Drawing.

to wool oils, or cloth oils," so-called, such as employed for lubricating or conditioning wool before spinning and manufacture into textiles or for oiling wool rags before grinding or d its special object to provide an oleag1nous composition of this character which w1ll not render. wool or equivalent combustible fiber to which it is applied, subject to spontaneous combustion.

Before proceeding, however, to a detailed description of the present invention, 1n order to more fully appreciate the results accomplished thereby it is desirable to consider certain known facts connected with the use of oils for lubricating combustible material.

Among those oils commonly employed for W001 lubrication, may be mentioned such unsaturated lycerides or fatty acids, as, for example, 0 ive oil, lard oil, and oleic acid or red oil, and linseed oil, which comprise or consist of unsaturated compounds (that 1s, compounds which have one or more double or triple bonds in their structural formulae), and which are, on that account, sub ect to oxidation by the oxygen of the atmosphere,

with the consequent evolution of heat. Thus,

in the treatment or conditioning of wool, carried out either by the direct application of the oil to the wool, or by first emulslfying the oil in water by the use of-a suitable emulsifying agent and then applying it to the wool, the oil is in either case eventually exposed while in thin films to the actlon of the oxygen in the air. For instance, where the treatment is elfected by an emulsion of red oil, the wool is dried by spreading 1t out in relatively thin layers, so that with the evapo ration of .water therefrom, a thin film of oil remains behind on the wool. Thus a. large surface of oil is exposed to oxidation by Application men July 81,

isintegrating operations, and has for as stated, may be 1925. Serial No. 47,373.

as stated, thisheat frequently develops to a point sufficient to give rise to the spontaneous ignition and combustion 'of the wool. This. liability to spontaneous combustion in the 'wool oiling process in great measure doubtless accounts for the high fire-insurance premiums in this industry.

The rapid oxidation. of the unsaturated constituents of such oils with the consequent development of heat is primarily caused by catalytic agents or driers, which may be adventitiously present in small quantities as 05 impurities in the oil, or which may have been added for some purpose thereto, andwhich by their presence tend to promote or speed up the oxidation reaction. These catalysts,

picked u or ac uired in 70. the processing,stor1ng, or plping o the oils, but thepresence of only a small quantity is necessary to give rise to or to promote a relatively rapid oxidizing reaction. For example, oleic acidor red oil, prepared by the 7 saponification or hydrolysis of olein and extensively employed in the wool oiling industry because of its relative cheapness and its adaptability for this purpose, is usually contaminated by small quantities of metallic oleates, principally iron oleate, produced doubtless by the reaction of the oleic acid with the iron of the containers, including the saponifying tanks and pipes, with which. it has contacted. The ferric or ferrous oleate thus formed and present in ,the oleic acid is apositive or active oxidizing catalyst; tends to promote. the oxidation of the red oil when it 1s employed for W001 oiling; and renders the wool or other combustible material undergoing treatment liable to spontaneous combus inon. In fact, any other metallic soap or salt which may be present, such as the salts of manganese, lead, zinc, or cobalt, likewise tend to promote the oxidation or the saturation of 9 double or triple bonded constituents .of unsaturated'oil. In addition to such metallic impurities which are likel to be adventitiously present in the oil, w ere the oil treatment is efiected with an emulsion of theoil, 0

has been acquired in any other way, tends to promote an oxidation of the oil and renders combustible material such as wool, treated therewith, liable to spontaneous ignition and combustion. The foregoing conclusion as to the action or catalytic power of such metallic impurities is evidently borne out by the deliberate use of metallic soaps or salts of some kind or other, for example, the linoleates, the resinates, oxalates, or the acetates, as driers for paints, these driers tending to promote'reaction of the oxygen in the air with the unsaturated linseed or other oil emplo ed as a vehicle for the pigment,and of'thus ryin the oil.

11 the course of experiments carried out V with. various oils or fats, including the unsaturated fatty acids and their lycerides and other esters, and including mineral oils of the character of olefines, I have discovered that if the oxidizing catalysts or metallic com ounds present in such oils are negatived by t e action of what may, for convenience of designation, be termed a negative catalyst, the tendency for rapid oxidation of the oil with the development of heat sufiicient to cause spontaneous ignition or' combustion of combustible material treated therewith, is precluded or prevented. Only a very small amount of the negative catalyst is required for addition to the oil or an aqueolis emulsion I thereof applied to the wool; and it may be specific example incorporated into the oil during or after the emulsification. The negative catalysts which I preferably employ are the phenols, which may be in the form of a mono-, di-, tri-, or other suitable polyhydric phenols. Such compounds negative or retard the oxidizing action of the oil sufiiciently to prevent spontaneous combustion of the wool to which they are applied, without themselves apparently undergoing any'reaction with the oil or with the combustible material. Moreover, they may be incorporated into the oil very easily by a very simple and inexpensive method, as will presently ap ear from the following of procedure which may be employed in the doctoring or treatment of an oil prior to its application to the wool.

For example, in the treatment of oleic acid or red oil, the procedure may be about as follows. The red oil obtained by the saponification of olein is uniformly admixed by a stirring operation with about.1%-2% of hydroquinone [O H,(OH) by weight,

the hydroquinone preferably being incor-' orated in pulverulent or finely divided orm of, say about;100 to 150 mesh. The oil may now be ap hed directl to the wool, if desired, or if t e oil is to a plied in the form of a dispersion, it may be ispersed oremul'sified in water by the use of a suitable emulsifying agent, preferably one whlch W111 .not react to any substantial ex tent with the hydroquinoneor other phenolic body, such as a soap, ammonia, ammonium carbonate, borax, sodium carbonate, or other suitable emulsifying agent well known to those skilled in the art. Or the phenol may first be incorporated in an aqueousemulsifying solution, and the oil then emulsified in the solution. If desired however, the hydroquinone or other phenol be dlssolved in a suitable solvent, preferably a non inflammable solvent such as chloroform or carbon tetrachloride, prior to being compounded or mixed with the oil or aqueous emulsion thereof. It is obvious, therefore, that the essential feature of my invention lies in the conjunctive use of a phenolic body and the oil whether the oil is applied to the wool as such or in the form of an emulsion.

As stated, the incorporation of a small amount of phenolic compound negatives or retards the action of the oxidizing catalysts sufliciently to nullifyany tendency for the development of heat sufficient to'cause spontaneous i tion or combustion" of the wool.

While or a satisfactory theory which underlies my method of retarding or negativing the action of the positive oxidizing catalysts present or acqun'ed as impurities in the 011, it may be that the phenols or phenolic homologues employed, because of their reducing power, prevent or retard the abor adsorption of oxygen by, or the oxidation of, these metallic compounds, and a transfer of oxygen to theoil. In other words, because of this reducing power of the henols, especially the diand trihydric p enols, and their ability to be oxidized by the oxygen of the atmosphere, it may be that they undergo a selective reaction with the oxygen of the air, in preference to allowing an absorption or adsorption of oxygen by the driers or positive catalysts or t eir oxidation, and thereby prevent the carrying of oxygen to the unsaturatedoil and its oxidation and preclude the development of heat sufficient to cause spontaneous combustion. other hand, it may be that these phenols, which are toxic, poison the catalyst, and thus prevent its functioning as a catalyst ofoxidation, just as freshly reduced nickel employed as a catalyst in hydrogenizing unsaturated oils may be poisoned by chlorine or arsenic. Whatever the explanation On the ie body may first am unable to give the mechanism or theory underlying the action of the phenols in the retardation or prevention of the oxidation of unsaturated 'oils and in eliminating spontaneous combustion of wool with which such oil is treated, it is a fact that I am enabled to'prevent the catalytic agents or driers present in such oils from exerting their catalytic or oxidizing influence, and in any event, to prevent spontaneous ignition and combustion of combustible materials when oils treated as herein described are applied to such materials.

While I have confined myself to a specific example of procedure which may be followed in the treatment of one oil having an unsaturated structure, to wit, red oilor oleic acid, it is obvious that this is by way of illustration only, and that the use of suitable phenolic bodies, such as resorcinol or catechol, or a trihydric phenol such as phloroglucinol, or

. a monohydric phenol, may be practiced in conjunction with other unsaturated oils having the property of undergoing oxidation, such as linseed oil, rape oil, fish oils, mineral oils and others having a double or triple bonded structure, to prevent spontaneous 1gnition and combustion when such oils are employed for treating combustible material.

Before concluding, I desire to have it understood that by the term phenol as em- 7 ployed in the specification and the appended claims, I mean any phenolic body, and by the term unsaturated oil, I mean any oil consisting of or comprising a compound hav- 1 ing at least one double or triple bondin its structure, and which is subject to oxidation by the air of the atmosphere with the evolulution of suflicient'heat to cause a spontaneous ignition and spontaneous combustion of combustible material to which it is applied.

What I claim is:

1. An oleaginous composition com rising an unsaturated oil havin incorporatezftherein about 1% to 2% hydroquinone, whereby spontaneous combustion of combustible material, to which said oil is applied, is overcome.

2. An oleaginous composition particularly adapted for lubricating wool, comprising red oil containing about 1% to 2% hydro uinone. i 3. A method of conditioning com ustible fiber such as wool for manufacture into textiles or the like, which comprises applying to the fiber an oleaginous composition comprisin an unsaturated oil having incorporated therein a phenolic compound in a small amount sufiicient to prevent spontaneous combustion of the fiber.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

AUGUSTUS H. GILL. 

